Clay-based sculptures : analysis of technical aspects and typologies

The subject of this paper is Afghan clay-based sculptural production, which constituted the predominant feature of Buddhist sacred areas throughout almost the entire history of Buddhism in the country. In particular, the record under scrutiny here encompasses the Late Kushan, Huna and Shahi periods (approximately from the 3th/4th century CE to the 10th/11th century CE). It was in this era that the use of mouldable materials such as clay and stucco reached such a degree of refinement that it significantly impacted the pan-Asian vocabulary of Buddhist artistic forms. The aim is to analyse and discuss technical and material aspects related to the often detectable ‒ but rarely documented ‒ traces of the inner armatures around which the sculptures were modelled and sculpted, as well as the signs left by the systems of anchorage to the wall. These elements, if carefully inspected, can be of great help in defining sculptural typologies and recurrent techniques employed for specific purposes. In particular, this paper examines sculptures from the Buddhist archaeological sites of Tapa Sardar, excavated by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan (hereafter IAMA) in the Ghazni area during the 1960s and 70s,1 and two additional sites, Tepe Narenj and Qol-e-Tut that were excavated in the Kabul area by the Archaeology Institute of Afghanistan (hereafter AIA), with the assistance of IAMA, in the 2000s. The analysis makes use of the abundant archaeological documentation of the above-mentioned sites produced by both the IAMA and the AIA, made available in the latter case thanks to the ongoing collaborative project and specific agreements between the two institutions.